endowment policy, ex wife, dss and child maintenance

lou167

Hi
I do hope I manage to explain this clearly and I apologise if this is the wrong forum.
My partner separated from his wife 12 years agoish. They are not divorced and have 1 daughter who will be 20 in October. My partner was made redundant in 2001 and subsequently had to undergo surgery which prevented him from going back to his trade, I took over the payments for maintenance which was privately agreed at £130 per month and also the payments due on 4 separate endowment policies. Ex-wife has always agreed that the maturity values of the 4 endowment policies (2 in her name and 2 in my partner's name) should all go to my partner as even prior to their separation, she did not work and he has always made the payments. Partner told her that i would be making payments when he was made redundant and that it was on the basis that the money I paid towards the endowment would be refunded to me as the policies mature. He only now works 2 days per week on minimum wage and received approx £330 pension each month. I have made the payments to fund his direct debit to the insurance companies and the maintenance has gone direct from my bank account since 2001.

First two policies have now matured and the insurance company have refused to pay the maturity value for wife's policy to the account from which they have been taking the premiums and have sent her a cheque. At the time of the separation, wife moved in with boyfriend and was not claiming benefits. however, they have since separated and wife is now concerned that the cheque for £11000 will have an effect on the income support she now claims, even though it was privately agreed all the moneys from the policies would be paid to my partner when they matured.

Our questions are:
1. can wife pay cheque into her bank account and write a cheque for the full amount to partner on the basis of the agreement that was made privately or will the dss still see this as an asset that she has & stop part of her income support on the basis that she has received £5k more than she is allowed to have before it affects benefits (my understanding is the first £6000 will not be taken into account when assessing income support)?
2. if she explains to dss that they had a private agreement and i have paid the premiums and she owes me the money, will this satisfy them?
3. when can we stop paying maintenance - partner's daughter is just finishing her second NVQ2 at college after having done a NVQ1 before them, following leaving school (ie left school at 16, took nvq1 and then two consecutive nvq2s)
4. If she does keep the money (on the basis the dss cut/stop her benefit) can the premiums payable for the policies be counted towards the money she would be entitled to if they were to go to court and get a divorce?

All agreements have been made direct between my partner and his wife so no CSA involvement or court orders. to date partner's wife has received £25000 cash and £130 per month maintenance since 1999. The policy premiums i have paid each month since 2001 (for her policies only) total about £50.

Thanks very much.
Lou

dmg24

Yes, she will have to declare it. Does she have anything in writing to prove that it was not intended for her?

Marisco

How will the DSS know about it, if no one tells them??

DX2

Daughter 20 and ex wife still on IS :think:

lou167

she said the dss sometimes ask for copies of her bank statements so she is worried if they ask for statements it may show up

daughter not 20 till october though and i believe is still at college until the end of the current academic year.

Thanks. L

dmg24

DX2 wrote: »

Daughter 20 and ex wife still on IS :think:

Nothing surprises me anymore!

DX2

Marisco wrote: »

How will the DSS know about it, if no one tells them??

Aye just keep quiet about it eh, no one will know never mind that it's actually fraud.

lou167

highly doubt she will just pay the cheque in and hand it over. she says the dss ask for copy bank statements on a regular basis.

theres nothing in writing as such that outlines the agreement they reached although I have no doubt that wife would be happy to confirm to anyone that asks what was agreed.

when wife first made dss claim, she asked me to send a letter to the dss confirming what i paid for maintenance, which I did. I sought advice via email in which I outlined the private arrangement but this did not go to anyone other than me, the recipient and my partner although the recipient giving advice is a solicitor so would that count?

thanks

Caz3121

Maintenance through the CSA stops on the childs 19th birthday (so would have stopped last October) Child benefit will stop when 'child' is 20 (but CSA still 19)

If it is a private agreement then he can stop anytime legally it is a moral question whether he wants to continue to pay whilst she is still in education or wants to encourage her to stand on her own 2 feet

lou167

thanks. we are happy to continue supporting financially - if daughter is studying to progress herself but to be honest its been nvq1, nvq2 (x2) and now there is talk of a third nvq2.

My own life plans included getting the maturity from the endowment policies so I am now short. the money i used to pay for the maintenance and policy premiums would have formed my savings of which I now have none which is why i am also wondering whether my paying the premiums and her agreeing to me at least getting the premiums back constitute a verbal agreement which I could sue her for? If so would the dss then agree the money should not be used in assessment

thanks

Marisco

DX2 wrote: »

Aye just keep quiet about it eh, no one will know never mind that it's actually fraud.

How is it fraud? If the wife pays the cheque in, waits for it to clear and then writes one to the op for the same amount, what's fraudulent about that? The wife is not getting the benefit of the money, if the insurance company put the op's name on the cheque in the first place, there would be no need to involve the wife at all!